Pumpkin Black Bean Chicken Chili ( for the slow cooker)

I'll admit, that until recently

when my food choices were severely limited,

I was not one to venture out and try new things.

In my book, pumpkin was something you ate in a pie.

It was sweet and had cinnamon and nutmeg involved.

I didn't grow up eating pumpkin.

Guess what?

A pumpkin is a squash.....a vegetable.

Not sweet at all.

Kinda neutral in taste.

But loaded with great stuff for your body.

Who knew? ( apparently a lot of people besides me)

Anywhooo...I'm a big fan of pumpkin these days

and we eat it often.

So here is the chili recipe that we had on Christmas Eve.

(My nephew said it was a good thing

I didn't tell him it had pumpkin in it

until after he ate it)

Our entire family loved it.

I served it with coconut flour muffins

and you can find that recipe here.

The muffins taste very much like cornbread

and you can bake the recipe in an 8 x 8 pan

instead of muffin tins for a more traditional "corn bread".

Hope you love it too.

Pumpkin Black Bean Chicken Chili

1 cup chopped organic onion

1 cup chopped organic yellow bell pepper

3 cloves garlic - minced ( or shallots)

2 tblsp olive oil

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp chili powder

4 - 15oz cans organic black beans - rinsed & drained

2 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 - 16oz can organic pumpkin puree

1 - 14 1/2 oz can organic diced tomatoes

3 cups chicken broth

1 - 14oz can organic unsweetened coconut milk



Saute onions, yellow pepper and garlic in oil for about 8 minutes or until soft. Stir in oregano, cumin and chili powder and cook for 1 minute more. Transfer to slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 7 - 8 hours.